BORACAY, PHILIPPINES – The Department of Trade and Industry’s Bureau of Philippine Standards (DTI-BPS) hosted the 49th ASEAN Consultative Committee on Standards and Quality (ACCSQ) – Working Group on Standards (WG 1) Meeting and its related events on 08 to 12 May 2023 in Boracay, Malay, Aklan.
The WG 1 Meeting proper held last 11-12 May 2023 was attended by the following ASEAN Member States (AMS): Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, and Viet Nam, along with the ASEAN Secretariat. Representatives from Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) also joined the meeting during specific agenda items.
The Philippine Delegation was led by BPS Director Neil P. Catajay together with representatives from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) – Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI), Department of Agriculture (DA) – Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (BAFS), Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), National Telecommunications
Commission (NTC), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) – Bureau of Research and Standards (BRS), DTI-Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau (FTEB), and other strategic partners as observers.
“We recognize that ASEAN efforts on harmonization of standards and mutual recognition arrangements is one of the key activities to establish ASEAN as highly integrated, cohesive, competitive, innovative and dynamic region as it facilitates free flow of goods across the region,” underscored Usec. Castelo.
The AMS, along with the ASEAN Secretariat, discussed numerous agenda items during the meeting including the updating of the ASEAN Guidelines for Harmonization of Standards; harmonization of standards including for new areas; technical assistance and capacity building programmes; cooperation between National Standardization Bodies (NSBs) in ASEAN; and Sub-Sectoral Work Plan 2016-2025, among others.
WG 1 assists the ACCSQ in facilitating the reduction of technical barriers to trade through harmonization of standards. As such, it develops, monitors and reviews policies and strategies for harmonization of standards in ASEAN, such as harmonization of AMS’ national standards with relevant international standards.
On 10 May 2023, prior to the WG 1 Meeting, the Philippines, through Engr. Ma. Teresita Del Rosario, Chief of the Standards Development Division (SDD) of the DTI-BPS, chaired the 20th Meeting of the Task Force on Wood-Based Products (TFWBP). The Philippine Delegation was led by Engr. Myra Magabilin of DTI-BPS together with Engr. Rheychelle Jean Pidoc of DTI-BPS, Dr. Rico Cabangon of DOST-FPRDI, DA-BAFS, PCA, NTC, and DPWH-BRS.
The DTI-BPS functions as the Philippines’ lead agency to the ACCSQ. As lead, the DTI-BPS represents the country in the programs and events of the ACCSQ Leaders on standards and conformity assessment procedures and coordinates with other government agencies and the private sector involved in the activities of the Working Groups (WGs) and Product Working Groups (PWGs) under the ACCSQ including the WG 1.
For more updates and information on standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures (STRACAP), please visit the BPS website at www.bps.dti.gov.ph. Emails and messages may also be sent to bps@dti.gov.ph or through the official BPS Facebook page (facebook.com/PHstandards).
